Ferry-landing apparatus.



A. T. PRESCOTT FERRY LANDING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1012.

Patentgd Aug. 18, 1914.

2 BHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES A. T. PRESCOTT. FERRY LANDING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JULY20,1912.

Patented Au 18, 1914 2 BHEETS BHBET 2.

MT (58858 d $07 A TTOR/VEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FERRY-LAN DI N G APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

Application filed July 20, 1912. Serial No. 710,591.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that. I, ARTHUR T. PRESCOTT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of East Orange, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in F erry-Landing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to ferry landings, and particularly to apparatus for raising and lowering the outer ends of the transfer bridges or angways thereof.

It is the o bject of the present invention to provide a simple mechanism for this purpose which shall have advantages over such apparatus of this general character as has hitherto been known.

i I will describe my invention in the following specification and will point out the novel features thereof in appended claims.

Referring to the drawings: Fi re 1 is a front elevation of a single deck erry house with my improved hoisting machinery applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the gallows frame on which the hoisting machinery is mounted and from which the forward or water end of the main transfer bridge or gangway is suspended. Fi 3 is a side elevation of the adjustable bri e or gangway and shows the end' of the gallows frame. This figure shows also the end of a ferry-hat in cooperative relation with the bridge. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the actuating motor and its connected gearing, the latter bein shown in section. F ig. 5 is a sectional en view of parts of this gearing, the section being taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. Fig. 6 isa sectional end view of the lifting screws, the section in this figure being taken onthe .line 6 -6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a detail in section of a cable fastener which is used on the ends of the long screws.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the figures.

1O designates the transfer bridge or gangway for the main decks of the ferry-boats. This is supported at its rear or shore end by a horizontal cross timber 11, the lower portion of which is rounded, resting in suitable grooves in framing timbers 12 which form .lS counterbalanced by weights :1 part of, and lie longitudinally in, the stationary portion of the ferry-house.

is a heavy cross timber which forms the front edge of the ferry-house platform, and between this andthecross timber 11 are two or more buffers 14 ofrubber or other resilient material.

15 is a plate which covers the joint be tween the ferry-house platform and the gangway bridge. Thus the rear end of the main bridge is hinged or supported upon the ferry-house in such a manner as to be free to move about a horizontal transverse axis. The free outer or water end of the bridge rests upon cross-girders 16 which are suspended from the gallows frame as will be pointed out. The superstructure of the ferry-house is designated by 17 and this supports the gallows frame 18 at a sufficient height above the bridge to provide the desired clearance. The free end of the bridge 20-20 on the supporting ends of cables 21 which run over sheaves 22 on the gallows frame, thence down to and under sheaves 23 mounted near the ends of girders 16 and back to the gallows frame to which their other ends are attached. i

Such parts of the apparatus as thus far have been pointed out are made in accordance with approved practice and need no further description. Such bridges have to be raised and lowered frequently to meet different conditions of tides and different heights of ferry-boat decks; My invention relates specificallyto improved machinery which is easily controlled by means of which the free end of the bridge may be made to assume the desired position.

On the gallows frame or deck is mounted a motor 30. This as shown in the drawings, is an electric motor although it is obviously within the scope of my invention to use other suitable motive power. Driven by the motor shaft are right and left hand worms 31-32 which mesh respectively with worm wheels 33-434. These then, when the motor runs, are rotated in opposite directions. They are internally threaded and through them run long screws 35-36. On the ends of these screws are fixed members such as those. shown at 37 1n Fig. 6. These are securely affixed to the screws and are provided with projecting ribs or flanges 38 which run in longitudinal tracks or guideways 39. B y reason of this arrangement any rotation the internally threaded worm wheels 3334 will impart longitudinal movement in opposite directions to the screws 35 and 36.

The guide member 37 at the left hand end of screw 35, which is shown somewhat in detail in Fig. 7, is arranged to form a cablesocket, and to it one end of a cable 40 is attached. This runs over a sheave 41 supported on the gallows frame and down to one end of the cross-girders 16 to which it 5 is connected by means of a chain42. Similarly the right hand end of screw 36 is connected with the other end of the cross-girders 16 by a cable 43 and chain 44.

50 is a motor controller which may be placed in any convenient position and suitably connected. with the motor 30. This controller is of course arranged to afiord manual control of the motor and to start it in either direction or to stop it at will.

The operation of the apparatus needs but little description. When the operator causes the motor to run in one direction it will, through the gearing herein described, cause the screwto travel to the right and the so screw 36 to travel to the left and this will obviously cause the outer or swinging ent of the bridge 10 to be raised. An opposite rotation of the motor will lower the bridge. Thus the height of the outer end of the a5 bridge may be adjusted at will.

In order to prevent the ossibility oi the bridge being raised too high or lowered too far, I have provided stop switches 5152 which are-actuated automatically by a pin 53 projecting from one of the guide members 37 These switches are suitably connected electrically with the controller 50 in such a way that either of them when opened will stop the rotation of the motor in one direction but leave its circuits in such condition that it may be made to rotate in the opposite direction. The -manner in which these connections may be made are commonly known to those skilled in the art, so I have not specifically illustrated them. For the same reason the motor controller is shown but diagrammatically.

The chain connections 42 and 44 are provided because of the fact that it is the usua 55 practice to raise the end of the bridge above the deck of the ferry-boat as the latter is approaching its landing, and to then lower the bridge until its toggles 19 rest upon the ferry-boat deck 54 and to continue the lowering operation until the cable and chain connections are slack. This allows for the rocking of the f811 -b01t due to water conditions or the shiftin of loads, and permits the bridge to fol ow so as to preserve alinement of the respective decks.

I have shown this apparatus as arranged to raise and lower the main transfer bridge of a ferry landing, as that is the specific purpose for which it is designed, but it is, believe, within the scope ofmy invention to arrange 1t for other short lift elevators.

The upper deck gangways commonly used in ferr -landings are not shown in the drawings as this is not necessary for a full disclosure of my invention. 5

This arrangement is not only etiicient and compact, but the bridge actuating machinery is out of the way and the cable susension allows the required lateral swinging of the bridge without decreasing the efieca tiveness of the hoistin pull. The right and left-hand worms on t e motor shaft eliminate end thrust from the motor shaft and the opposite thrusts upon the worm wheels 33 and 34 are so near each other that to an 5. extent they balance each other.

What I claim is:

1. Hoisting apparatus for a ferry landing having a vertically movable element, a transverse horizontal ,suppbrting member above said element, a pair of horizontally disposed parallel screws thereon, means for preventing rotation of the screws, nuts on said screws, motor driven gearing for simultaneously rotating said nuts to thereby cause as said screws to move longitudinally in opposite directions, flexible hoisting connections interposed between unlike ends of sai screws and the movable element of the landing, and direction sheaves over which said let flexible connections run.

2. In a hoist for a ferry landing, a vertically movable element, a transverse horizontal supporting member above said element, a pair of horizontally disposed par- 10 allel screws thereon, means for preventing rotation of the screws, nuts on said screws,

a motor, gearing between said motor and nuts whereby the nuts may be rotated simultaneously to thereby cause said screws to"'1" move longitudinally in opposite directions, flexible hoisting connections interposed between unlike ends of said screws and the movable element of the landing, and direction sheaves on said supporting member 1 over which said flexible connections run.

In' a hoist for a ferry landing, a vertically movable element, a. transverse horizontal supporting member above said element, a pair of horizontally disposed parallel screws thereon, guide members afiixe to the screws arranged to prevent their retating but to allow them to move longitudinally, nuts on said screws in alinement with each other, the peripheries of said nuts forming worm wheels, a motor, worms driven thereby in mesh with said worm wheels arranged to rotate said nuts simultaneously to thereby cause the screws to move longitudinally in opposite directions,

flexible hoisting connections interposed he- Lwcen unlike ends of said screws and the movable element, and direction sheaves upon said supporting member over which said llcxible connections run.

i. In a ferry landing, the et'anbination with a bridge having a horizontal hinge-like support at its shore end, a transverse horizontal supporting member above the free end of said bridge, a motor on said supporting member, right and left-hand worms driven thereby. worm wheels in mesh therewith, said worm wheels being internallythreaded, a pair of horizontal screws adjacent each other on which said worm wheels are mounted, hoisting connections between unlike ends of said screws and the tree end of said bridge, and direction sheaves over which said connections run.

5. Hoisting apparatus for a ferry landing bridge having a horizontal hinge lilce sup port at its shore end, comprising a transverse horizontal supporting member above the free end of the bridge, a pair of horizontally disposed parallel screws thereon, guide members,- allixed to said screws arranged to prevent their rotating but to allow them to more longitinlinally, nuts on the screws in alineuient with each other, the peripheries of said nuts being constructed to form worm wheels, a motor, worms driven thereby in mesh with said worm wheels whereby the nuts may be rotated simultaneously to thereby cause the screws to move longitudinally in opposite directions, flexible hoisting onnections secured to the free end of the bridge, direction sheaves on said supporting member over which said connections run, and means for manually controlling the motor.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of July, 1912, in the presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR T. PRESCOTT. 

